Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

So what PMF products, glues, primers & paints would you recommend today, in 2020?

I understand from reading the forums about PMF that some of the tried and true products from the past have changed formulas and are not the same as a few years ago. I also understand that we may not know for sure how something new will hold up until it has been tested over time. But who knows if the products used today will even be available in the future. Regulators have proven they are capable of forcing a manufacture to changing a proven formula at any time. This may be a continuing problem.

If you were to build a PMF covered foamie today, what you use?
What products that look promising?

The problem has only recently surfaced, only questions no answers yet afaic.

Do your testing before committing, and be sure to report back here.

New Gripper may just be good enough as a starting point, I would test it

A. alone, adhesive + encapsulation in one, vs
B. TB2 first, then primer

Once again , personal testing of intended materials is always suggested … Easy to do on some scraps … prove it to yourself … then tell us what you think !!!

Just like to point out that using glue allows you remove and reseal the skin with heat.

I had some rot behind the door striker (should have sealed that) and had to section in new wood. I was able to use heat to remove the skin, repair the wood and glue the skin back down. Don't know if I could have done that I had I used primer.

TB2 has a track record. If it's not soaking in water continuously, it seems fine. Why fix what isn't broken?

Gripper alone also has a good track record.

Not "fixing" anything, constant improvement and experimenting is a Good Thing.

Each can do as they like, no dogma here

But Glidden Gripper is no longer available and it's replacement, PPG gripper is not the same thing.

Guys , Over the 7 year life of the FoamStream , we’ve repeatedly torn off bad skin and replaced it with New … No problems gluing over old paint … A good cleaning , a light sanding to add some “tooth” , and wiping down with common rubbing alcohol to prepare the surface. We did use Gripper for the modifications , but a suitable substitute remains to be found … But like PM said , “ TB2 has a track record. If it's not soaking in water continuously, it seems fine. Why fix what isn't broken? “ The bulk of the FS is TB2 , just the “soaked” areas were a problem … That and I couldn’t believe little tiny Ants bored so easily through two 18 oz. layers of painted and glued canvas… They seemed to eat the glue …
Drip edges solved the FS soaking problem , Ant traps took care of the critters …

Pmullen503 wrote:But Glidden Gripper is no longer available and it's replacement, PPG gripper is not the same thing.

Yes nothing is the same.

Just saying, in testing, the replacement formulation is IMO a logical place to start.

GPW wrote:Once again , personal testing of intended materials is always suggested …

I'm a newbie, I hope to start my first build in month or two.
I was hoping to get some suggestion of current products that others have tried that held promise.

I would think products that been tried and failed would also be of value to the group. No need to waist time or money to test them again.

Yes that would be nice but alas not the case yet.

Frequency of new builds seems to have understandably slowed down

Merv wrote:I'm a newbie, I hope to start my first build in month or two.
I was hoping to get some suggestion of current products that others have tried that held promise.

I would think products that been tried and failed would also be of value to the group. No need to waist time or money to test them again.

I am just completing a build...used the methods used by George Coe II, worked very well.

Have you seen his tutorial vids?

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3xVuH ... SiploqPyrw

~~JV~~

Merv wrote:

GPW wrote:Once again , personal testing of intended materials is always suggested …

I'm a newbie, I hope to start my first build in month or two.
I was hoping to get some suggestion of current products that others have tried that held promise.

I would think products that been tried and failed would also be of value to the group. No need to waist time or money to test them again.

Don't know if there is a bad product just some work better than others.

I am finishing off #3. This was the first build without Gripper being available. I used Valspar products this time.

I used Valspar bonding primer as a primer. Seemed to work good. I tried it since it mentioned that it could be used over glass. I remember that Gripper also said it could be used over glass. Thought I would give it a try. Worked pretty good. Covered #3 bare foam exterior with just a 1/4 gallon. Took about a gallon to cover the exterior after canvasing. I feel that it is comparable to Gripper at this point, although it is more expensive.

I usually just use the same exterior paint for the interior, but this time I thought I would try something different to experiment with. Tried Valspar 2000 which is a primer and paint combo. To be honest I really did not like it that much. Took a gallon for the interior. I think there is better product out there.

I used Valspar SeasonFlex for exterior. Seem to work ok, but did not think it was any better than their Storm Coat which I liked.

I think it is possible that I did not like these last two products as much is that they where paint and primer. Probably will just try regular paint next time. Like I said before above I did like their Storm Coat.

Good luck, George.

ghcoe wrote:Don't know if there is a bad product just some work better than others.

Great post, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

I found this to be very good, but also very expensive.. With a Pro Account it's still $65 a gallon.

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/painting-contractors/products/pro-industrial-procryl-universal-acrylic-primer

S/W has other residential exterior primers that I have not tried for this application, yet have always liked they're products.

As far as costs go, and the good experience with TB2, I would go that direction if I were to do PMF again.

On another note: Source out Duck Cloth vs. canvas. I finally found some for my tent extension and it's stepping into another world of quality. Find it on sale and it's really not that much more!!